Single-Unit Dispensing Container With Child-Resistant Locking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing containers for dispensing solid products, such as pharmaceuticals and tobacco, lack effective child resistance and metered dispensing mechanisms, allowing unrestricted access to the contents and compromising sanitation.
Innovation Solution
A container design featuring a locking mechanism with a dispensing tray that pivots between a closed and locked position and a dispensing position, allowing only one unit of the product to be dispensed at a time, combined with a blocking member to prevent further access when in the dispensing position, ensuring child resistance and controlled dispensing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional cap is used that requires downward pressure and twisting to remove, then child resistance is improved, but immediate access to all contents is provided once opened
Solution Approach 1:
The container is segmented into multiple discrete dispensing units, each capable of releasing only one product unit at a time. This segmentation prevents a child from accessing all contents at once, as each dispensing chamber must be individually opened and used before the next becomes accessible.
Solution Approach 2:
The dispensing chambers are designed to dynamically transition between locked and unlocked states. After one chamber is opened and dispensed, it automatically locks again, preventing further access until the chamber is reset. This dynamic locking mechanism ensures that even if a child opens one chamber, they cannot access subsequent chambers.
2Ease of operation
If the container allows free access to all product units, then ease of operation is improved, but sanitation is compromised due to touching numerous units
Solution Approach 1:
The product unit is extracted from the bulk storage and presented in an individual dispensing chamber before use. This extraction isolates the single product unit from contact with other units, allowing the user to obtain the product without touching numerous units, thereby maintaining sanitation.
Solution Approach 2:
The dispensing chamber acts as an intermediary between the bulk product storage and the user. The chamber receives, holds, and presents a single product unit, serving as a buffer that prevents direct contact between the user's hand and the bulk product, thus maintaining sanitation while preserving ease of access.
3Reliability
If a locking mechanism is added to prevent child access, then child resistance is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism is merged with the dispensing chamber structure itself. The walls of each chamber incorporate the locking features, and the act of dispensing (pushing the product out) simultaneously triggers the locking action. This integration eliminates separate locking components, reducing overall device complexity while maintaining effective child resistance.
4Reliability
If metered dispensing is implemented to control product release, then child resistance and sanitation are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The dispensing chamber is designed to automatically meter and dispense exactly one product unit through its own internal mechanism. When activated, the chamber self-regulates to release only the required amount (one unit) without requiring external control systems, sensors, or complex metering devices, thus achieving metered dispensing with minimal added complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A container adapted for dispensing a product is provided, the container including a storage compartment configured to store a plurality of units of a product to be dispensed; a dispensing chamber for receiving at least one unit of the product, the dispensing chamber configured for movement between a closed and locked position and a dispensing position; a dispensing pathway between the storage compartment and the dispensing chamber, the dispensing pathway sized for passage of at least one unit of the product; a locking mechanism adapted for releasably locking the dispensing chamber in the closed and locked position; and a blocking member operatively positioned to block the dispensing pathway when the dispensing chamber is in the dispensing position.